I Googled "indoor dog breeds" and found more than a few articles about breeds that have less need to go outside. You may want to check out a few of those links.

But I tend to doubt that a dog that's totally confined to the indoors will be a happy, contented dog, generally. Even a quick review of one article seemed to say that most of these breeds are okay with "only" a daily walk.

Which is way beyond many of us.

I think you'd want to do a lot of homework and be painfully realistic about your abilities. If you can't walk a dog at all, and can't find a dog walker to do it for you, then I think you'd want to be absolutely sure that the breed will be just fine without.

As a dog owner, I'm also pretty sure that a pee pad doesn't usually cover the poop aspect of dog ownership ;-) Every single time I bend down to pick up after my dog in the yard, I come close to passing out. The "pooper scooper gizmos" have failed me miserably.

I lived next to neighbors who didn't take adequate care of their dogs. Their dogs suffered as a result, and I suffered as a result of their dogs' suffering.

I adore dogs and would be a wonderful human companion but I really need one that doesn't go out at all. I know it sounds awful but I would do everything to make inside living fun and physical for them. I can't stand cats so thats out. I am a doggie guy through and through.

The local rescue place suggested I consider adopting a dog between 5-9 yrs, as this is generally their middle-aged couch potato phase
In the end I decided I just can't do a pet now, but I thought it was good advice. With a really dedicated shelter like ours (just lucky I guess), they keep
a good diary of their personalities, unique quirks, and energy level. So I'd say look at older dogs, and go hang around a bit with potential
fur friends to get a better idea of their needs. Some puppers are really just in it for the treats and cuddles

My dog is an indoor dog now at eleven years old but this only started this year b/c of my health and circumstances. She is a mini-dachshund and I hired a service which delivers and sets up a huge patch of fresh grass to my (outdoor) patio every two weeks. I worked with an excellent trainer to teach her to use the grass and once she finally understood it, it has worked out great.

She goes out on the patio multiple times per day, so she does get fresh air, sunshine, and uses real grass, but she no longer goes for walks. The exception is every three weeks when I go to my IVIG treatment for 3-days, then she stays with my family and goes on walks then. But in general she has never been big on walks (she has short legs LOL) and often resists them.

She's had many different routines throughout her life like when I first got her, she was crate trained as a puppy and a dog-walker took her on walks while I was at work. Then later she went to doggy day care while I was at work. Then for about 4 yrs, my husband worked from home and he took her out to do her business but never did actual walks.

I am at the point that I was able to walk (so far just once very slowly) from my apt to the elevator without wheelchair but this is only a fraction of the distance to get her outside. I cannot walk the full distance, or the return distance back, and am also not strong enough to pick her up if a big dog came after her. I also am not able to bend down from a standing position to pick up her poop (which I do from a chair on patio with a "poop rake" and have a routine that works really well)!

I have a lot of friends and family over so my dog is never bored between playing with visitors or with her toys. And in general at 11 yrs old (she'll be 12 in Nov) she is pretty lazy and likes to burrow under the blanket and sleep or lay in the sunlight from the patio. Luckily this is working well for me or I would not be able to keep her right now which would have broken my heart b/c I have had her since she was a seven week old puppy.

I would love to have a dog but dont have the energy to walk them, . . .

Are there any good breeds that can be housebound and don't mind going on a pee pad? . . . I am not a fan of the "decorative" variety LOL.

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Your post is timely, because just in the past few weeks I've been researching dog breeds in an attempt to find a companion that would meet my criteria: low exercise needs, less prone to bark, easy to train, and non-shedding. I'm actually a fan of some of the "designer" dog breeds (eg. Aussidoodle, Cavapoo). Many of these would fit my criteria, except for exercise needs. So far, I haven't found a single breed that doesn't require at least one walk, or some active outdoor play every day.

I think you'd want to do a lot of homework and be painfully realistic about your abilities.

I lived next to neighbors who didn't take adequate care of their dogs. Their dogs suffered as a result, and I suffered as a result of their dogs' suffering.

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A very astute comment, @TenuousGrip , and the conclusion I reached after being realistic about my ability to meet all of a potential dog's needs.

I read your blog post in the past, although I don't recall all the details. I'm so sorry about what you went through, especially as someone who in the past referred to our neighbourhood as "barking dog hell". Our living situation was again idyllic for several years (at least for city standards) after one family moved away, and I finally got the courage to report the other dog owner to by-law. That worked.

But late last summer, a new family with two dogs moved in. The barking problem was sporadic until recently, after the arrival of a new baby. Now, the dogs are being neglected. They spend their days on a large raised deck (above fence height) which really helps them project their barks and whines.

Just this morning after a particularly bad few days, I went into the lane to determine if the owners were at home (we actually can't see the dogs through the trees). It appeared they weren't, but after several minutes the back door opened, and I heard the woman say: "OK, that's enough." I moved into her line of site and said: "Actually, it's been a bit too much barking the past few days". She apologized, so I hope things improve. Over the years, I've become more tolerant of noise from neighbours (less sound-sensitive than in my early ME years). Nevertheless, I don't want the dogs' barking to become more of a habit, nor do I want the neighbours to assume their dogs' unproductive barking doesn't impact the neighbours.

This situation reinforces my realization that I could become the neighbour with the nuisance dog as a result of not being able to meet its needs.

My dog is classed as a medium breed as was my previous dog. Both big chested with very deep barks.

When we got my 1st dog my neighbours had builders in and repeatedly ignored my requests not to pet him if he barked (part of the fence had been removed for building work). So he learned that barking meant attention. Nobody mentioned it to me but I reckoned it was an issue.

We spoke to neighbours on either side and explained that we were aware this could be an issue and explained what we were doing about it. We organized a couple of home one to one sessions with our obedience class teacher & sorted it out.

Over the years there have been new neighbours & when I introduce myself I always tell 'em to come & talk to us if they have any concerns about my dog.

I think it's important for everyone - my dog included - to get along as best as possible.

Wow, @TenuousGrip I just read your blog and had absolutely no idea that you had been through all of that! I am so sorry.

I want to add to my above post that my dog rarely ever barks. The exception is if someone rings my doorbell (and then she used to go crazy barking for a few minutes) but I solved this by taping a sign over doorbell asking people not to ring it and just to leave packages at the door (for me to get later) or to knock softly. My friends just text me and say "I am at the door" and then I open it quietly and no barking. But short of doorbell, my dog goes for days without ever barking (unless she barks 1-2x at me b/c she thinks I am late in giving her dinner LOL).

My parents had prior neighbors who left their dog outside for days and nights at a time and it would cry and howl b/c it was so cold, sad and lonely IMO. It boggles my mind how anyone could do this to a dog and my dog is literally like my child (as weird as this must sound).

There are suitable dogs for us out there. Small breeds can go on pipi pads. Medium dogs, I don't think so. Most people who don't like small dogs just never had one. Once you've tried it, you can't go without !

A toy poodle would be great for you. About 6-10 pounds, no shedding and just playing and running in the house is good enough exercise. The only thing is they need regular grooming every 4-6 weeks. You can learn to do it yourself and divide the job in small 20-30 minutes increments over many days.

For a pipi pad, I would recommend getting a female, because they don't miss the pad like males do when they lift their leg.

I agree an adult dog is much better. They are already housebroken and they won't cry at night and make ypu lose what little sleep you have.

I have two small dogs and I can't walk them regularly. Once in a while if I am lucky, and no walking in winter, small dogs usually hate it anyways. I don't use a pipi pad. I just open the door and they go in my fenced backyard. I don't even pick up the poop, it's so small it disintegrates in the soil.

Doing training with your dog (mental training) is a good way to tire them and it doesn't require a lot of energy on our part. But even without that, small dogs can be happy just cuddling with you on the couch or in your bed all day !

Perhaps you could find someone who would like their dog to be looked after during the day when they are at work? That could mean companionship for you and the dog, without the responsibility of providing for all of the dog's needs.

Perhaps you could find someone who would like their dog to be looked after during the day when they are at work? That could mean companionship for you and the dog, without the responsibility of providing for all of the dog's needs.

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Great idea! Everybody wins, including the dog.

Having a dog is a really solemn responsibility, you want to be able to give them a good life.

If you were able to pay a good dog walking service to do daily walks - most days if not all days - then that could work. With the walks outsourced and you available for companionship, your dog could even have a better life than the regular working person's dog, who's alone most of the day. But the problem there would be cost.

We have a dog, but that's only possible for me because I live with people who care for her and take her out regularly. If I'm on my own, I drive down to the dog park, which is gated, take her in and let her off the lead and just sit down on the bench that is there and watch. She gets a pretty good workout if there are lots of other dogs there to play with. Do you have anything like that near you?

@Horizon As someone who has owned over 10 dogs thus far in my life, with half of those being older/elderly dogs whom I rescued I must agree that every dog absolutely needs access to the outdoors multiple times a day. Even the elderly, deaf, blind, crippled pug I rescued needed/wanted to go outdoors. Even when my dogs have been very sick and close to passing away, they still wanted to go outside. It is their nature to want/need to commune with nature and all the smells and sights that come with it.

TBH unless you got a really old, infirm tiny one I don't think it would be fair to any dog to keep them confined to the house. The outdoors is a dogs natural environment for mental stimulation as well as exercise. There is the possible option of hiring a dog walker to come and give them a good dose of the out Doors each day but would thst be enough outdoors time, is it that you don't have a garden? . It's not ALL outdoors which are tick territory, only certain places although I don't know where you live. I think a house confined dog will be a depressed one unfortunately.

I don't think it is fair to have a dog when it's not going to get any walks at all. It's not good for the dogs mental state to be kept indoors either. Dogs are social and like to meet other dogs, sniff their neighbourhood and have some sort of enjoyable life, I think when a dogs needs are not met they will develop issues.
I have two border collies who are older now, I still have enough energy to take them out on my mobility scooter, and my husband takes them in the evening, to not take them out would be wrong. When these two go I probably won't replace them as I still don't feel I can give them what they need.
I would think of the dog's needs instead of your own.

Get a cat, convince yourself you like cats, if you can't, get a fish - the cat will then like you. Some, not all, but most, cats are perfectly happy to spend all, or almost all, of their life indoors and don't develope issues because of it, the same can't be said for dogs. Mine came from a rescue center, deaf, bad eyes, wouldn't last more than a few days as an outside cat, being a house cat was ideal for her, and me, once she got used to me and calmed down. She does tend to get a bit loud if she feels her needs aren't being met tho, and persistent, but she also tries to look after me, like yelling at me, insisting I lie down (using the medium of jumping on my chest and "holding" me down) if she thinks I am ill, yelling at me if she's been fed but she hasn't seen me eat etc. She keeps me alive.

Dogs are seriously high maintenance, even small ones, compared with a cat, or a fish. If you get really bad a cat, with some access to the outside, is capable of obtaining its own food, and generally sorting its needs out, without raising too many eyebrows, any dog that tries that isn't for much longer.

People that can't stand cats usually have never had one or maybe had one that was older when they adopted it and it didn't bond well.

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I don't know if this pertains to the original poster but in my own case, I am deathly allergic to cats, lifelong, even before I got sick. My entire family is allergic and for me, it's to the level that I'd probably end up in the ER.

but I agree with everyone else's comments that it really wouldn't be fair to a dog to not let it get outside every day.

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I agree with everyone's comments re: dog's even though my dog is currently mostly an indoor dog right now because of my situation. Unless I made a full recovery, I'd never get a new dog living in an apt due to my inability to walk the dog, but I have had my current dog for almost 12 years and she is part of my family so we needed to come up with a creative way for it to work so I could keep her with me.

She goes outside every day onto my patio which is large and has fresh grass, is next to many trees, has a lot of sunshine and fresh air. She goes out 4-5x per day and sniffs around and lies in the sun. But she currently does not go on actual walks (except for every third week when I have treatment and she is at my parent's house). She has never liked to walk, which used to be annoying, but at present it works in my favor!

She's a very happy dog and was well socialized b/c she attended doggy daycare with other dogs for 5-6 yrs while I was working full-time (before I was sick and also prior to getting married) and then my husband would take her out to pee but she'd still refuse to walk and would do her business and run straight back to the door... she is a weird dog LOL. She is with me 24/7 so never lonely and I have people over almost every day so she gets to socialize. Although truly, she is content to burrow under the blanket on my bed or couch and sleep. But she is a small dog and is almost 12 yrs old.

Our current arrangement would not work IMO with a puppy or a dog who is larger than her.

Like @Gingergrrl I think it's a different situation with an elderly dog who can't/won't walk far/often and this is a situation that has developed over time.

My girl cannot be walked every day (that's my husband's dept anyway). Her health has declined over the past year or so. She does have access to the outdoors on demand though.

In the UK it is possible to foster elderly dogs but I think the adoption agencies would still require that they have access to a safe outdoor area. Also, you probably wouldn't have them for very long if the dog was at that stage of their life.